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Social and Behavioral Sciences

Union College

Politics

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

American Popular Culture, Politics, And Comedy: How Saturday Nigh Live Delivers The "News", Jillian Callanan Jun 2016

American Popular Culture, Politics, And Comedy: How Saturday Nigh Live Delivers The "News", Jillian Callanan

Honors Theses

Saturday Night Live has delved into the realm of politics throughout its forty-one seasons as a means of generating humor through satirical and parodical representations of politicians. This thesis explores Saturday Night Live during election years in particular, when the show generates a great deal of its content from the surrounding political atmosphere to comment on the issues at hand in a way that most often contrasts the style of reporting done by traditional hard news programs. The increasing role of entertainment in news delivery sheds light on the blurred lines between news and entertainment news, and this thesis will …


Democracy And Citzenship: A Counterintuitive Relationship Examined Through Ancient Athens And The Contemporary Crisis, Shivangi Mehta Jun 2016

Democracy And Citzenship: A Counterintuitive Relationship Examined Through Ancient Athens And The Contemporary Crisis, Shivangi Mehta

Honors Theses

Ancient Athens is often valued for being the birthplace of democracy, a form of government that is often believed to be “by the people, for the people.” With democracy came the emergence of citizenship. In ancient Athens, citizenship was created to outline the political community by defining who belonged to the community and who was excluded from it. Through time, as countries have been claiming they are becoming more democratic, more restrictions have been imposed. These restrictions have created boundaries, thus excluding individuals from citizenship status causing them to lose their rights and abilities, specifically in areas such as political …


The Price Of Democracy: Hong Kong's Identity Crisis In The Umbrella Revolution, Jen Keung Jun 2016

The Price Of Democracy: Hong Kong's Identity Crisis In The Umbrella Revolution, Jen Keung

Honors Theses

Most past research on the democratization of Hong Kong has been generally concerned about on the ramifications of institutional power dynamics, and aimed to inform an audience whose primary interests were in China. Accordingly, understandings of the culture and society of Hong Kong becomes limited, as they serve to support an argument for or against Chinese regional despotism. From public media coverage to scholarship articles, very little attention has been paid to the transformations of Hong Kong at the individual level. In a society that has been through constant social, economic and political transformations in the past decades, Hong Kong …


The Origins Of Wave Elections: Narrative Control Polarization And Turnout In New Hampshire Electoral Politics 2006-2012, Zachary Jonas Jun 2014

The Origins Of Wave Elections: Narrative Control Polarization And Turnout In New Hampshire Electoral Politics 2006-2012, Zachary Jonas

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the origin of wave elections in New Hampshire in 2006, 2010 and 2012. It finds that recent demographic shifts in the state laid the groundwork for these dramatic electoral results. This paper also examines the nationalization and polarization that have redefined New Hampshire’s political landscape and contributed to massive partisan shifts in state government. The combination of demographic changes and a polarized political culture have created an electoral environment for both Republicans and Democrats that favors turnout, increasing the importance of agenda setting and narrative control in order to produce high turnout among core constituencies. Chapter 1 …


The Impact Of Marriages And Extramarital Affairs On Political Careers: A Selection Of Roman Politicians And American Presidents, Shelby Cuomo Jun 2013

The Impact Of Marriages And Extramarital Affairs On Political Careers: A Selection Of Roman Politicians And American Presidents, Shelby Cuomo

Honors Theses

This thesis explores four historical figures who engaged in extramarital affairs while holding political office. These figures include Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton. I assess the varied public responses to these men’s affairs by researching their relationships with women – that is, their wives and mistresses. In Ancient Rome, one politician was exiled from society and eventually killed in battle for his extramarital romance, whereas the other was – and still is – praised as one of the most successful politicians while he was sleeping with the wives of his allies and friends. Both presidents, …


Governing Religion: A Study Of Religions Function Across Three Distinctly Different Societies, Sky Kochenour Jun 2011

Governing Religion: A Study Of Religions Function Across Three Distinctly Different Societies, Sky Kochenour

Honors Theses

Religion’s place in political order is a controversial subject. How does the function of religion compare to that of political order? Can it support a society in the same way? My research attempts to answer these questions by investigating three distinct time periods and cultures. I first examine the primitive people of the Azande tribe in Africa, an example of a society based mainly on religion. My research then turns to the fifth and sixth century Greeks, a society in flux, attempting to hold on to religion in the throes of a logical revolution. Finally, I turn to America to …


Rediscovering Prigg V. Pennsylvania, Andrew J. Trochanowski Jun 2011

Rediscovering Prigg V. Pennsylvania, Andrew J. Trochanowski

Honors Theses

The concept of federalism serves as the foundation for the American political system. The framers laid a foundation for balancing state and national tensions; and during the antebellum era American political actors wrestled with the proper application of these concepts. This paper traces the evolution of federalist principles beginning at the founding and culminating with the commonly misperceived Supreme Court case Prigg v. Pennsylvania by analyzing transformative historical moments and political regimes. Prigg v. Pennsylvania currently exists within contemporary political and constitutional scholarly literature as a slavery case decided upon moralistic bias and the Court’s commitment to the institution of …